Chapter 17 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RUPERT. Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day. Dolly had to wait. It was hard waiting. She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
Chapter 17 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
conveyance consisting of a wheeled support on which a camera can be mounted
From this reading “Dolly had to wait.”
a Mid-Atlantic state on the Atlantic; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.”
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading “RUPERT.”
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading “She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.”
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Dolly had to wait.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “It was hard waiting.”
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading “She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
in addition
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
conveyance consisting of a wheeled support on which a camera can be mounted
From this reading Dolly had to wait.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dolly had to wait.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It was hard waiting.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was hard waiting.
a Mid-Atlantic state on the Atlantic; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
go away from a place
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading RUPERT.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Dolly had to wait.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Mrs. Jersey could not leave town the next day.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Dolly had to wait.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading It was hard waiting.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was hard waiting.
at the time that
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
but in spite of that
From this reading She half wished she had stayed that day also with her father; yet when she asked herself why?--she shuddered.
Chapter 17 of The End of a Coil by Susan Warner holds 375 sentences, grouped into 75 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 17 holds 375 sentences of The End of a Coil, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The End of a Coil by Susan Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 375 sentences, grouped into 75 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The End of a Coil by Susan Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27618 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27618, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2569 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The End of a Coil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The End of a Coil to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The End of a Coil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
